Optical transceivers transmit and receive optical signals in optical communications systems. An optical transceiver includes a transmitter optical sub-assembly (TOSA) to transmit outgoing optical signals and a receiver optical sub-assembly (ROSA) to receive incoming optical signals. Each of the TOSA and the ROSA includes an optical port, which is designed to be connected to a connector of a fiber optic cable, such as a patchcord, so that optical signals from and to the optical transceiver can be transmitted through the fiber optic cables connected to the TOSA and the ROSA.
Some conventional optical transceivers are susceptible to fiber optic cable induced stress at the optical ports, which is commonly referred to as “Wiggle”. The Wiggle stress results in variations in the transmitted optical power, which may lead to signal levels falling below the optical link budget requirements and adversely impact data integrity. This degradation of signal levels is typically more pronounced on the transmit side compared to the receive side. Thus, Wiggle stress is more of a concern for the TOSA of an optical transceiver rather than the ROSA of the optical transceiver.
The transmitted optical power degradation due to Wiggle stress is dependent on the optical port of a TOSA, as well as the connector of a fiber optic cable connected to that optical port. The optical port of a TOSA is provided by a TOSA receptacle, which includes a housing assembly, a split sleeve and a fiber ferrule. The housing assembly is configured to accommodate the split sleeve and the fiber ferrule. The fiber ferrule is used to secure an optical fiber, which has an end positioned to receive optical signals from a laser diode of the TOSA. The fiber ferrule is partly positioned within the split sleeve. The unoccupied region within the split sleeve is used receive the connector of the fiber optic cable so that the optical fiber in the fiber optic cable can be optically aligned with the optical fiber in the fiber ferrule of the TOSA receptacle.
A concern with the conventional TOSA receptacle is that the loss of optical power (LOP) due to Wiggle stress can be significant.
In view of this concern, what is needed is a TOSA receptacle that can reduce the LOP drift due to Wiggle stress.